The Id in the Bones
by gwmclintock9
Summary: Sweets confronts Dr. Brennan and Booth in preparation of the release of his book. The manner of his approach though, will not sit well with one of the partnership. Or at least not well for long. BB Likely a three-shot
1. Id in the Bones

The Id in the Bones

A/N: I've always had an issue with Bones calling psychology with a soft science. I guess this is my one-shot in response to it. I wish I had highlighted more psychological work, but if I continue this, then I probably will. Granted, it is not my area of interest, but I know enough and am good enough at research to support the topics.

On a seperate note, I will be updating Cloths of Heaven within a week or so. I had been stuck with the plot, but I've reached a good point where I can progress. Please read that as I've written a few seperate scenes and finally figured out how to connect them. Thank you for your patience. Good night, and good luck.

**I0I**

He watched them enter, well more or less watched her. He had been off tilt since they had started coming into his office, and really he was at his wits end about it.

"We're going to try something different today." They both rolled their eyes, and he could not help the smile at their discomfort. So often through their surrogate relationship, they were able to get people to bend to their whim. Or rather, Booth was able to get people to bend a bit toward what Dr. Brennan wanted.

"More role playing? You know I hate that Sweets." Of course Booth was the one to speak up first. Drawing attention away from the defensive stance his partner held.

"No, we are going to talk about the cultural significance of emotion." This sparked both of their stares, Dr. Brennan's being the more intrigued, Booth daring him to push.

Sometimes, security had to be released before you could become safer. Or at least, that was how he believed it worked.

"Dr. Brennan, what can you tell me about Margret Mead?" Undoubtedly, one of the more influential cultural anthropologists of her time, she knew who Mead was.

"Mead was a cultural anthropologist, who worked with Samona tribes, the Arapesh, Mundugamor, and the Tchambuli," She looked between the two of them before continuing, checking as if Booth would be comfortable most likely. "She dealt with social-sexual issues, determining sexual activities were very common. Her findings were centered around incestuous relationships helped by them, as well as woman forgoing traditional marriages for casual sex." Sweets smiled lightly at the uncomfortable look that crossed Booth's face as he shifted in his seat. It was probably best to move onto the next topic, because it seemed like she was ready to go into depth about the

"What about Paul Ekman?" Her look was more of confusion now, like she was unsure of her statements that were about to follow.

"He was a psychologist, whose theory was about the universal nature of emotions." Booth moved to face her, putting one arm behind her on the couch and another on her knee.

Sweets caught a look in Booth's eye, slightly surprised to see the man had figured out what was going to happen. He hadn't even looked over at the stack of papers on his desk, which awaited both of them.

"He conducted a study that supported the idea of six basic emotions that are recognized across cultures." Brennan turned to look at Booth, who had completed the answer. Sweets knew that Booth would recognize the name: Ekman had spoken to the FBI on several occasions on the subject of deception. Emotion played a large role in determining deceptive behavior, or at least that is what Ekman believed. "Happiness, sadness, surprise, fear, disgust, and anger."

"Contempt has recently been recognized as the seventh, but you are correct." Sweets leaned back, taking the moment to watch Dr. Brennan. This would be a moment that could make or break their professional relationship. Their personal relationship could follow a similar pattern. "What I want to know is if you knew how he came to that conclusion?"

"From what I remember, he interviewed the Fore people of Papua New Guinea." Brennan shifted closer to Booth, moving back into his arm on the couch. Her posture remained rigid, and Sweets could tell that he needed to tread lightly at this point.

"Do you agree with the assessment?" She nodded, though it was slow and obviously difficult for her to accept.

"What's the point of this, Sweets? Why does what Ekman did matter?" Booth snapped at him. He spotted the technique of drawing the attention to himself. Sweets had known the agent to do so many times in the past, in an effort to protect the good doctor. He also knew that she would spout techno-babble at times to draw the attention to herself, or state things so bluntly, everything else had to be ignored. Including her partner.

So people for who watched the forest, they were so blind to the trees.

He wanted them to see what he, and likely anyone who met them, did. The point of his book on their surrogate relationship would be lost if they did not realize how much more they could have with each other. First step, however, was getting Brennan to recognize that that psychology had much to offer as a science.

"Ekman did not just interview the Fore people, nor did he just show them pictures of American faces." Sweets moved to look at Booth, who had settled to glaring at him, as if willing his head to explode before he finished speaking. It probably was a life saving move to focus on Brennan who still looked confused and a little lost. "He also presented American people images of the Fore people, providing culturally similar stories and asked them to identify the emotions."

"His findings were supported by other anthropologists." Brennan looked between the two of them, before letting her hair create a veil over her face. Booth's arm had moved off the couch and was now protectively around her.

"His findings was supported by psychological experiments, Dr. Brennan." She flinched at this, and Sweets knew he was reaching the point that would get through to them. "Experiments founded in the scientific method that you also support." He took the silence for her absorbing the information, and the glare from Booth as telling him to back off. But he needed her to admit that his science was valid, so that she could benefit from his conclusions. A conclusion that could only bring more stability to her life, something he knew she desperately craved.

"Now, I admit, psychology is a young science, less then a hundred and fifty years ago. But that does not mean that the people who conduct the research in the field are not serious about the scientific method." Sweets leaned back in his seat, grabbing the stack of papers on his desk. He placed them on the coffee table, getting a little satisfaction out of Booth's groan.

"As a clinical psychologists, I use the research of others, similar to you Dr. Brennan, as you use the research of others primarily in your development of theories in the field."

"What does that got to do with these?" Booth waved the hand on Brennan's knee at him, keeping the one behind her on her shoulder. It looked like that she was still in shock or at least processing what he had said for the moment.

"I want you to read a few papers. Some are selections from books published in the area of relationships, others are studies done on relationships."

"Why do you want us to read us this stuff?" Booth was the one to speak, but Brennan reached for them before settling back in his protective stance. She did not notice his actions, or if she did, she had taken them for granted. Part of his efforts here to today were to get her to understand how much value she placed on Agent Booth's work, and effort.

"I want you to read it, and understand how important your relationship is, to not only yourself, but others around you as well. To do that, you need to recognize the type of relationship that you have."

"Why? What does it matter what type of relationship we have?" Brennan looked between the two of them, and when her eyes were not on him, Booth seemed to be willing him not to go any further, to not talk about what Booth had figured out.

"It matters as relationships, just like people, evolve over time. If you want to appreciate what I wrote about the two of you, then you have to understand that I did so from an objective standpoint, with some of this," he motioned toward the stack of paper in front of them, "as the research I used to develop my conclusions about you."

"What does it matter? This is the reflection of a Western modern culture-"

"Which you live in, Dr. Brennan, that you primarily interact with on a day to day basis. This is your culture, and this is how the rest of the culture views the world as well." He sat back in frustration, trying to figure out how to get her to understand.

"Dr. Brennan, I want you to explain to Booth what enthocentrism is." He knew that the two of them responded to information gained from the other, over information just given to them by outside sources. The further outside of their tight circle, the more difficult it was to impact them with information. Sweets knew he was treading in deep waters, but he had to try.

"Okay," she shifted more, so that her entire body faced Booth. The dynamic between them was terrifying as it was wonderful. He knew how terrifying it was because he had seen it when she threatened to tell Booth about his unethical experiment. An experiment he regretted to this day.

But he was able to see the wonder in it now, the subtle touches the two of them shared, the progression from friends into more than just colleagues and co-workers. He had told the truth to Booth about the CAT scans, because he did believe it was a manifestation of his coma dream. A manifestation of his dormant desires and beliefs. Booth deserved so much more then he allowed himself, and only Brennan was able to get through to him.

Hence the asking for patience before diving into everything. Not because he was ready and Brennan wasn't. But because neither of them were ready to face the strength behind everything.

"When you look at a culture from your point of view, instead of through theirs." Booth said before she could speak. His casual shoulder shrug and smile at her brought a smile on Sweets face as well. "I listen to you."

"I never thought you didn't." Her words were whispered, and Sweets knew she had never consciously thought that he did not pay attention to her words, but subconsciously? He believed there was still that lost little girl, trapped in the trunk of a car, begging to be heard and saved.

The look of endearment on Booth's face was enough for him to realize that Booth had come to the same conclusion. Or at least half of the conclusion.

The other half, the part that Brennan held to, was that Booth needed someone to protect him as well. Because although he stepped in to prevent others from being hurt, he never had someone step in for him. Not until her, and her clumsy, yet endearing manner.

"So what does that have to do with psychology? It deals with anthropology?" Booth asked, letting Brennan rest a moment.

"Do you know what cultural relativism is, Agent Booth?" He shrugged his shoulders, a delaying response that neither acknowledged his knowledge nor his ignorance of the term. A self defense mechanism that Dr. Wyatt had warned him about.

"Roughly, it means to view the culture through its own terms and devices," Brennan said. "It is considered the most appropriate and best way to interact with cultures, without criticism of their beliefs from an outside perspective."

"Okay, that makes sense. How else would you get reasonable information and cooperation from the natives." Booth's intelligence often was cast to the way side, with himself doing most of the casting. He was good at making people underestimate him, and really, Sweets knew he had fallen prey to the man's talents more than once. It hadn't been until Dr. Wyatt had pointed it out to them while on a case, that he began to see how much he downplayed his abilities.

"Exactly Booth. I want both of you to read these as if you were cultural anthropologists. I want you to read this from a culturally relativist stance." He tapped the stacks of research, looking at both of them. "You may not agree with what you find, but I want you to respect the fact that these researches and theorists took their time to come to these finds."

"You want me to trust the theories of psychologists?" Brennan's confidence seemed to be returning as Booth's hand ran silent shapes over her shoulders. Sweets doubted that either of them knew what he was doing, or the comfort that he was bring to her. It was natural, and he felt like a voyeur at times, watching them interact.

Still, forward progress was often met with challenge.

"No, I want you to question it, look for flaws, and come back to discuss it with me. You never accept things on blind faith, why should I expect you to accept this?"

"He's got a point Bones."Booth finally picked up his stack of papers, flipping through them. "You know, there a quite a few of these." Sweets let out a sigh, knowing that this is going to bite him somehow. "I mean, I'm not a fast reader by any means."

"And I am going to have to do a lot of background research to confirm any of my questions." Brennan picked up his tactic, and the two of them turned into that amazing double team that solved so many cases. And managed to get out of so many sessions with him.

"Plus we've got to discuss them afterward, maybe come up with a few questions to ask about them." The two of them shared a smile, one that could have meant anything to an outsider.

But to him, their psychologist, Sweets knew that the smile was their way of unconsciously showing their support for one another. They worked on such an unconscious level that he wondered how they had progressed forward at times.

Sweets leaned back in defeat, knowing both that the successful step forward and the step back the two of them just took was going to be worth it once they realized the depths of their feeling. Their ability to work together was never in question when he evaluated it. What was a question, was what could happen if they failed to communicate the depth of the feelings for one another. That was the only scenario that he saw where he would need to recommend a dissolution of their partnership.

Even then, he doubted he could bring himself to sign off on the paperwork. The two of them worked so well together, it made others want to work just as hard, if not harder, to match their level of commitment to the case and each others.

"Then I'll schedule our next appointment for two weeks from today." Sweets looked at them both, and they nodded, finding it acceptable that they got out of at least two sessions the following week. The most likely scenario was the two of them would not be here for another month, but he could wait.

He may have started the game late, and stuck on the sidelines as the two of them boxed around each other, but he was patient, if nothing else. While others were willing to give them ancedotes and tales of how much they loved each other, he gave them the facts that they could build off of, to build something worth living for.

He gave them facts, knowledge that others had been building upon for decades. These were things they could find comfort in, as the facts were truth. An important value for them both.

They left without a goodbye, but that was their way. And he realized that the others, including himself, believed you had to convince one partner at a time. Maybe it was for the best that they worked together on this, just like they always did.


	2. Superego in the Artist

The Superego in the Artist

A/N: I was unsure about pacing this one as a continence or just another one-short. Here is the next chapter, if you want to call it a chapter...

I own nothing, and never will. Yeah college loans.

Thank you, good night and good luck.

**I0I  
**When he got to the Jeffersonian to pick up Daisy for lunch, the last thing he expected to see was a bunch of people crouched over a table, talking in hushed whispers. His girlfriend included.

Still, seeing them like that did not surprise Sweets. He could hazard a guess about what they were doing and arguing about, especially because they kept throwing looks over their shoulders at the office of Dr. Brennan.

"-not right." Angela had to be leading this group, as she was the one who kept pushing for the two of them together. On top of Dr. Wyatt's case note on the group functions, he had seen it time and time again as she watched the two partners interact.

"You know if the two of them found you like this, they would probably kick your butts." All four of them turned to look at him, though Daisy was the only one who looked embarrassed by his appearance. Sweets spared her a smile as he entered the bone room. "I mean, seriously, do you really think that they would enjoy you scheming about their lives?"

Angela shot him a glare, while Cam and Wendell at least admitted to what they were doing. Sweets shook his head, motioning toward Daisy. "Let's head off for lunch. That cool?" Cam nodded, finally overcoming her momentary embarrassment.

"You going to rat us out?" Angela snapped at him. He looked at Daisy who gave him a small smile, as if apologizing for Angela's behavior. He looked at Wendell and Cam, as if to try and figure out what was going on before directing his attention back to Angela.

"Why would I do that? I really wouldn't be telling them anything they didn't know already." Sweets stood defensively, awaiting this hurricane to pass.

"No, you're just going to let them continue on as always." She waved a hand at him, as if dismissing him, though, it was more likely she was dismissing his observations and findings. He shrugged his shoulders, smiling at Daisy. Lunch away from this was looking better all the time. "Which is rich coming from someone who said honesty was the best policy."

"Huh?" This drew him out of his day-dream of Daisy and him, experiencing some lunch time fun. Whatever tear Angela had been on before he interrupted, it now seemed directed at him. The apologetic looks on Cam's face was enough to know that this probably wasn't going to end well.

"I mean you waltz in here, and just give us little bits of advice and step back and watch the chaos." Angela wasn't quite yelling, but she was getting close, and it definitely was making him uncomfortable. "And then you make a mistake and act like nothing happened."

He held back his groan, but felt the flush of embarrassment hit him. HE had not cheated on Daisy, but in a moment of weakness, he was ashamed to admit that the thought had occurred. Hodgins had talked him out of it, and if anything, the incident only reaffirmed his relationship with Daisy, and his desire to continue with her. She had in such a short time become the most important person in his life.

"What's she talking about Lancelot?" Daisy broke him through his thoughts, and he the wounded, confused look on her face pained him. The guilt filled him as he looked away, not meeting her eyes. Nothing had happened, nothing major at least. He did not even get to first base, but that single act was a defiance of their love.

"Yeah, Lancelot, tell her," Angela spat.

"Ang, you need to calm down," Wendell tried to place a hand on her shoulder, but she just shrugged him off.

"No, he needs to hear this, she deserves to hear it too," Angela crossed her arms, trying to look stern. All Sweets could see was a very defensive, very angry woman.

"Hear what?" Daisy moved over to his side, her small hand wrapping around his elbow.

"I....I..." He could not find the words, and his shame prevented him from blurting it out to her. Only a few months prior he had accused her of the same thing, and while he did not cheat on her, that did not stop him from a moment of weakness.

"Mister High and Mighty here, Mister-Honesty here cheated on you." Angela said it with such self-validation, that Sweets had no time to respond to her. Or to the resounding slap on the face that Daisy gave him before running out of the room, the tears echoing through his now empty perception.

It took him a moment to turn at look at Angela's satisfied smirk, or to even remember to breathe.

"Angela, I think you've gone too far." Cam's whispered puncture the void that had surrounded him. The other woman apparently did not hear as she just turned to Wendell who still looked shock and if anything else, pained at what his girlfriend just did.

"He needed to be knocked down a peg or two." Angela's dismissive wave was more than enough to get him back into the fight.

Sweets never was one to spar or fight. He avoided physical fighting like the plague, knowing that the bullies would only punch back that much harder in response. He spent his time, understanding them, learning their flaws and then holding in that anger and pain. He vented quite often, and mainly Booth gave him opportunities to vent that the man didn't realize.

Being able to direct the two of them helped him work through his own misgivings about people. But that did not stop him from watching others, and making his own judgments.

Whatever friendship that may have been between him and the artist was gone. And since he knew his fists were hardly capable of doing anything in response, he was determined to attack the only ideal that Angela seemed to really hold to any more: Booth and Brennan get together, on her terms.

"Miss Montenegro, while I do believe in honesty, I also believe in modesty and respect of boundaries, two qualities that you clearly have no regard for." His voice remained steady as metaphoric hands attempted to gather up the pieces of his heart that the artist had shattered.

"What do you know, you're just a kid." She turned back for support, but Sweets could tell that both Dr. Saroyan and Wendell were doing their best to stay out of the argument.

"I know what makes or breaks relationships," he shot an apologetic look over to Wendell, which was met with confusion. Despite the crush he may have had on the artist, he knew what she first looked for in a relationship, and it was the same thing that she wanted Booth and Brennan to have to start their 'formal' relationship. "I know that building a relationship only off of sexual intimacy will ultimately fail. Especially if that is all you give."

"What?"

"Do you really think that your relationship ended with Hodgins because he didn't trust you? I still believe that I was right in telling Dr. Saroyan that you should know she sleep with your ex-husband. But instead of confronting what you were feeling, which was jealousy at Dr. Sayoran's actions. Because she slept with something you consider yours."

"He was my ex-husband, it was awkward."

"Awkward because you made it so. Both Dr. Hodgins and Saroyan were able to deal with that fact, why weren't you?" He wanted to turn his back to them all and walk away, but they needed to butt out of Booth and Brennan's lives. He wanted to desperately go fix things with Daisy and maybe never set foot in the Jeffersonian again if he could arrange it. "I bet it is because you still don't know how to be emotional intimate with someone? Why else would you have run from him in the first place, and conveniently forgotten you were married? Why break up with Roxie, only to get back together again and then decide that it wasn't working out? Why break up with Hodgins in the first place? Is it because you could not handle how real things were getting? Or did you figure out that sex wasn't going to fix that situation either?"

"How do you know, you're just a kid?" Angela was flailing for foot holds, and he was almost done.

"A kid that had a more successful, more intimate relationship with someone else. A kid that knew he may have made a mistake, but had reaffirmed his commitment to his love, and was planning on marrying her, or at least asking her in the next few weeks." The slapped look on all of their faces was worth it.

"So let me ask you Angela? Was it worth it? Do you really feel better about yourself? Like a teenage drama queen, having to be the center of attention and knowing all the gossip?"

"Look I'm sorry, I didn't mean, I didn't think..." She looked hurt, and Wendell seemed to grasp enough of his relationship with her that she need a little comfort. And it was a credit to his character that he was willing to offer it.

"That's right, you didn't think." He snapped, and the hurt let the words flow. "You could not think that maybe Brennan and Booth have to take a different path besides just jumping right into sex." Both of Wendell and Angela flinched, and he may have hit home with their relationship there. "Brennan uses sex as a way to maintain intimacy, undoubtedly because she is trying to emulate you, but also because she sees it as a way to make short term commitments to others. Yet it doesn't work, not for her. Sexual intercourse invariable becomes routine and dull to her over an extended period of time, and thus she had nothing to fall back upon, so the relationship will fail.

"Booth, however can't view such intimacy as lightly because he views it as that damning." He had not meant to share his point of view with them, and really they had not earned it. But Sweets felt a tightness that could not be relieved until he got Daisy back. This was only aspirin for a migraine. He would get through it, the only question now was how long it would take him. "He can't just up right into the sack with someone because he get a feeling in his loins. The man is a poster child for self-control, and you expect it to fly out the window just because some woman shakes herself at him? Even if that woman is Dr. Brennan, the man has placed a higher importance on emotional intimacy then you could ever give him credit for."

"How do you know that? How do you know anything?" Angela's voice broke a little, and he let out a breath.

"Because I care enough to watch them and know how they want to proceed. Not how Dr. Brennan should proceed to get him, or how Booth should work to make her believe in love. I work with them together, because they need to solve it together, or this will fail." He waved a dismissive hand as he turned to walk away. "And your great idea of a roll in the hay will not mend a broken heart, let alone two."

He had gotten nearly ten feet away before he saw Agent Booth, leading behind a column. The man looked calm, and uncaring. But there was a sense to him that the agent heard everything. The fact that Booth did not look surprised or angry made him relax a little bit.

"I know you probably want to head off to talk to Daisy, but I figure you can't do that on an empty stomach." His perception of people amazed Sweets sometimes, and it made him wonder why Booth even came to their sessions or asked for help.

"I..I guess." Booth nodded a direction and moved off the column, and began walking away without any further confirmation. "Where are we going?"

"To lunch, I was planning on eating with Bones, but she figured you could use the company today." Everything Booth did he managed to reflect the best parts onto another person. Rarely did he ever get credit for helping a friend. Probably remnants of his childhood, deflecting all the good onto Jared, so he could take the bad. It was probable that Booth had been the one to tell Dr. Brennan that he needed someone to talk to, and persuaded her to have lunch in her office.

"Well, tell her thanks for me." Sweets managed a small smile, and followed the larger man for a bit before speaking. He waited until they were at least away from the main examination room before speaking again. "Do you think she'll ever speak to me again?"

Booth attempted to fake dumbfoundedness and confusion, but Sweets stared at the agent until the man wiped the look on his face. "Yes, I do. Because you want it bad enough."

"You think it will work?"

"Everything happens eventually, Sweets." He clapped the younger man on the shoulder once before motioning for them to continuing. "Come on, you cutting into my lunch hour. I don't want to be stuck here tonight when the Capitals are playing the Flyers tonight." The smirk on Booth's face meant there was more to it then that, and Sweets would have hazard a guess that it was because Dr. Brennan would likely be watching the game with him. Even apart they shared a togetherness that he thought that Daisy and him were reaching.

Turns out, he was wrong about that assumption. He could never have what the two of them did. Because it was theirs. He just need to make the best of what he had with Daisy, because she was worth it. They were worth.

And maybe things will eventually fall into place for the agent and doctor. Only time would tell.


	3. Ego in the Agent

**The Ego in the Agent  
**  
There was only so much that a person can take. Sweets watched the two of them for so long, wondering if they would ever get together.

He had his answer now; though it was not the one he expected.

Did they have the potential to get together? Yes.

Should they? Yes, they balance each other out and provide a strong support system. Theoretically speaking, they are likely to hold of the basis for that a strong relationship built on love.

Would they? Probably, because despite saying they were opposite people, the only real difference was their methods of analyzing the world. Brennan through science, and Booth through emotions and other less empirical methods.

Did he want them to? That was the question that plagued him as he looked at the agent sitting before him.

Booth look like he had been shattered and was hastily put back together. Like he spent the evening on a bender, and was still recovering from it, though, hardly drunk. He carried dark circles around his eyes, and his shoulders slumped against the seat with a heaviness that he had only seen when the man was told about the tumor in his brain.

But the man was poster child for perseverance, being able to strong arm his way through anything. Both physical and emotional problems. Sweets had read his file, on the lingering natures of PTSD that he likely suffered from, but the psychologist had not seen a symptom of it at all. They likely existed, in the privacy of his home and behind closed doors. Booth was too much of the alpha male to let others see the weaknesses he possessed.

Booth attempted to hid it from everyone, but there was still only so much that he could do to hide the pain that he was feeling. Maybe he had pushed them too hard. Maybe this was too soon for them.

Shacking his head, he regathered his thoughts. It was the right thing, because waiting for something to happen was killing Booth. Something else was killing him now, but at least the man was no longer stuck in limbo.

"I'm a gambler." They were the first words the man muttered after sitting twenty minutes in the chair. Sweets had made sure that all other appointments were canceled for the day. "And I put it all down on the biggest bet of my life."

"Who said you lost?" It was the one question he had for the man, as everything else was observation. He had kept a glimpse of their talking to each other from one of the windows in the hallway. She still walked beside him, and leaned into him. But the pain was evident in his steps, and he was a little stiffer then before. Even now, the man was army rigid, yet managed to look defeated.

"She said she couldn't be in a relationship with me. How do you call that winning?" There was a flash of anger, which was a good sign. Just as he told Hodgins that anger was okay, he wanted Booth to know that feeling was okay. Because if they both stopped feeling things, then their relationship, their partnership would fail completely. The chance for repair was still there and they could become something more something grander than before if they fixed their crushed hearts, as Dr. Brennan referred to them.

The ball was in her court, however, and she would likely not know what to do until it was likely too late. Booth would move on, and the time until he did so would kill him.

The one hope Sweets had was that Booth would realize he was as just as likely to move onto another woman, as he was to move onto the changed Dr. Brennan. He was a gambler, and the gambler lived off probabilities.

"Still say the jury is out, but I believe that we need to focus on you for the time being." Sweets let them sit silence for a bit. This time was about giving him an opportunity to repair himself, and then they would work on repairing the relationship. This would not be easy, and nor would Booth remain unscathed because of it. But he would thrive.

Sweets could only hope that their little family would survive this sundering. Because the center was not holding, and it was still crumbling in front of him. The only hope was his next meeting, though the person did not realize it.

**I0I**

Sweets walked into the Jeffersonian without looking at the other squints. He found it odd to refer to the scientists as such, but he realized that if their family broke apart, he would likely end up with 'Daddy' and leave the rest of them to 'Mommy'. If only because Booth would willingly give up everyone just so she would be okay.

He was unbiased and impartial for the most part, but after several months, watching the two of them dance around their failed attempt at resolution, he realized that she was not seeing the truth for what was becoming of them.

Booth had attempted a relationship with the marine biologist, but both of their departure dates approached, the less Booth talked about her, the less Brennan glared.. But she never really talked about it, never approached the problem. Booth was still dating Katherine, but Sweets could not help but ponder if Brennan would be comfortable seeing the woman ever again.

She did not run away though. She did not leave the Jeffersonian, which had previously been her method of problem solving. She stood her ground, and that was the problem.

Until now.

Until both of them decided that they needed time away, needed to refocus themselves. Or at least, Booth said that. Brennan was the one that truely needed time, and Booth was going back to war just to give it to her. It was possible that she did not even know how much he sacrificed for her over the years.

Everyone approached the problems incorrectly, even himself. They all tried to get her to see the argument from their points of view. Even Booth. That failed, and the tension was tight enough in the lab to play a guitar.

"Dr. Brennan." He walked into the bone room, looking at the skeleton of the table for a moment. She paid no attention him, concentrating on the femur in her hand. She turned it over, her lips moving like she was talking to herself. "Dr. Brennan?"

"What is it Sweets? I don't have time to deal with this. I have a lot of work to get done before I leave." He stopped him self from sighing. They both were running now, and while he had a reason, Sweets wondered if Brennan even realized that she was killing her partner slowly. That she was pushing him away.

"I thought you were the one to know, and Gordon Wyatt I believe recognized it as well. You've known just as long as he has, haven't you?" She paused at this, the tibia still halfway between the table and where she normally examined them. "We were wrong about him and you; you saw it then and still see it now. But what troubles you, is the fact that he could be so successful, while overcoming his problems, and you can't seem to find your way out of yours." It got the desired response, a very angry Dr. Brennan. He also knew that he was going to piss her off even more in the next few moments. "I bet you smiled more when you first met him. Laughed a little more, maybe even were willing to cry a bit too." Whatever retort she had died on her lips as she glared at him, the emotional pain of her past resurfacing.

"He made you feel something wonderful, and because you couldn't handle it, you had to take it out on him. I always figured that there was a reason that he was the one that always had to apologize, when really, you seem to have instigated most of the arguments."

"He doesn't apologize first," she half-growled him, half-murmured, "sometimes we don't even do that."

"Well, it certainly has served you well." His sarcastic remark seemed to shame her, as she turned away, back to look at the table. "You really thought things wouldn't change?" It was more of a statement, as he had recognized her inability to plan social interactions for the future. She did saw them as fleeting, and then fulfilled that belief by leaving the relationships.

"Why should it? Things were working okay." Her back remained facing him, refusing to face the problem head on, as always.

"Because you are the one that keeps saying that if things don't change they atrophy," Sweets let the thought sink in. Her demeanor faltered, her stoic facade failed as she tried to avoid his statements. "So if you fail to adapt, doesn't that mean you are unsuccessful?"

"I never claimed to be a successful conversationalist." She turned to look at him, as defensive as ever.

"No, you say what you mean every time, but it highlights exactly what you don't say as well." He moved further into the room, coming closer to invading her personal space. Sweets understood that Booth was the only one who could enter without any type of fear. Or at least he was.

"You know I hate psychology," she said it with a sigh of defeat, knowing he was not going to leave her alone. Which was true. He just wanted to know what she was thinking when she turned him down.

"Yes, but I also know that you need to realize that there are more than one angle to look at something. You don't look at a bone the same way every time, every case. You lift it up, spin it, turn it over, x-ray it and a variety of other different things."

"What does that have to do with anything?" She turned to look at him, and gave him his first chance to examine her. She had avoided him so far, and with them so close to leaving, Sweets had wanted to make the most of it with Daisy.

Because he wondered if he could wait for her while she was gone.

"Everything." It was rare that someone knew more that her, and he tried to step lightly as he spoke. He did not need her angry, and by consequence, Booth angry as well. The man did not know he was here, and Sweet preferred it that way. "Because you refuse to look at things in any other way but logic, you miss a great deal of the interactions."

Neither said anything for a moment. Sweets had had his peace, and knew that she needed time to digest it. Everyone needed time, and sometimes you had to give it to them. But this was something that he could not let pass, especially since she would be leaving for a year.

He took his leave, letting her return to her bones. Or at least attempt to start the examination again. It was unlikely that she would, especially since she would be heading off in a few days to the other side of the world.

**I0I**

He had just told Daisy not to wait for him. The single hardest act of his life. She was going to go off to do something she loved, a world away.

It was enough for him to know that things could not stay the way they were. As much as he loved Daisy, part of her needed to grow up, and he still had a bit of doing that as well. Time would help, but the distance might help as well.

Still, after watching Booth and Brennan's emotional goodbye, he wondered if they would ever get to the point where they could be honest with each other. Honest enough that they could change and grow into something wonderful.

Booth showed the hurt more, and he believed that the time away would do the agent some good. It was unlikely that Booth would not not move on, especially since he had to try and protect himself for the firs time in his life. He was a defender, and maybe this time away as a teacher would teach him to defend himself a little more. To be able to stand up to her, and call her on her flaws more often.

With a sigh, he flipped the packet of information over. The Bureau had decided to just let him work on partners still, instead of doing more of the profiling that Booth had let him do. The experience had been great, and Sweets had wanted to do more of it, but the Bureau denied the request. Still, Booth would probably let him continue when he came back. The man had helped them all grow so much, and yet denied himself that growth.

It was wrong to call him a gambler, it was wrong to say that he needed to take that gamble. Because he wasn't, and it wasn't a gamble that Booth needed to take. Instead, she needed to take that chance, despite the logical reason.

No, this needed to be put aside. He had a year to not deal with the drama and the excess. He could maybe relax for once. It would not stop him from worrying about his friends, but at least he could stop worrying about them getting together or not. Because for the next 12 months, they would be across the world from one another. Hopefully determining finding themselves along the way.


End file.
